Golf practice game



GOLF PRACTICE GAME Filed Nov. 15. 1963 FIG.2

INVENTOR RALPH J. CARBON I BY W a4 ATTORNEY 3,29%,232 Patented Jan. 17,1967 nice 3.2%,232 GOLF PRAQTHCE GAME Ralph .l. Carhoni, 327 SharonDrive, New Orleans, La. W124 Filed Nov. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 323,364 7Claims. ((31. 73--379) This application is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Serial No. 220,652, filed August 31, 1962, in the name ofRalph I. Carboni, now abandonet The present invention relates to a golfpractice game and more particularly to a golf practice game wherein atethered ball can be driven with conventional golf clubs within theconfines of a limited area.

Tethered ball games for the practicing of golf have been previouslyknown. These devices, however, generally utilize an elastic tether cordof one type or another. For example, British Patent 203,227 issued toWilliam Baker on September 6, 1923, shows a golf practice device whereina tether cord is used having a spring. Elastic tether cords, whetherformed of a spring or any relatively highly elastic material such asrubber or nylon, are not suitable since a well-hit ball will be returnedto the player with virtually the same speed and force with wh ch it wasdriven. For obvious reasons of safety, such elast c devices are notsuitable. The devices of the prior art have also suffered from a pooranchorage of the tether cord to the indicating device, the cord oftenseparating from the indicating device due to the force of the drive.Devices using non-elastic tether cords have also been utilized, butthese have proved unsuccessful due to the great shock transmitted to theindicating device by the force of the ball coming to the end of thetether and the tether being unable to absorb any of the considerablekinetic energy of the ball.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a golfpractice game which overcomes the difficulties inherent in the prior artdevices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf practicegame which is completely safe within the confines of the average yard.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf practicegame characterized by integral indicators which allow the player toestimate accurately not only the distance of the simulated shot but alsothe directional deviation, if any.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf practicegame which permits the serious golfer to perfect his off the green It isanother object of the present invention to provide a golf practice gamewhich is portable, simple, completely safe, and yet is relativelyinexpensive.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a golfpractice game utilizing a tether cord and a tether cord anchorage whichare strong and capable of safely absorbing shock.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one detail of the device of FIG. 1showing the anchorage of the tether cord to the indicating device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view of a detail of the device of FIG. 1showing a channel guide.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view partly broken away of a detail of theindicating device in accordance with golf practice game of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing one part of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a weight used in the present device.

The golf practice game of the present invention is shown generally at 12in FIG. 1 and comprises a base board 12 having desirable indiciathereon, e.g., numbers indicating the yardage a ball would have been hitwith a particular stroke. The base board is shown in FIG. 1 as a fiatrectangular board, but its peripheral configuration is unimportant. Arectangular base board 12 is preferred because of the ease of packagingand shipping. The base board 12 has on its upper surface two stop blocks14 and 14A which are securely anchored or adhered in any conventionalmanner to define a stopping plane normal to the longitudinal dimensionof base board 12. In addition, the stop blocks 14 and 14A must besufficiently spaced aoart to provide an opening down the center of thebase board 12 between such stop blocks 14 and 14A. Behind the stopblocks 14 and 14A and also aifixed to the up er surface of the baseboard 12 is a channel guide 1 6. The channel guide 16 is a U-shapedtrough extending in the longitudinal direction of the base board 12. Aseen in FIG. 3 the channel guide 1 6 is provided with a pivot pin hole18 in its bottom surface and the channel gu de 16 is attached to thebase board 12 by a pivot pin 21 (note FIG. 5) which extends through thepivot hole 18 and into the base board 12. The pivot pin 211 permitschannel guide 16 to rotate with pin 20 being the axis of rotation.

The golf practice package is also provided with a game tee 22 whichconsists of a flat support board 24 to which is attached a tee 26 uponwhich a captive ball 28 may be placed. However, the gametee 22 is notessential since a conventional golf tee may be used. Attached to theball 28 in any conventional manner, e.g., fused to the ball cover,integral with the cover, swivel eye attachment, passed through the balland anchored on the opposite side, passed partway through the ball andanchored to or made integral with the live center of the ball, etc, is atether cord 30 which in turn is attached at its opposite end to ananchor block 32, shown in detail in FIG. 2. The nature of the tethercord 30 and the manner in which it is attached to the anchor block 32 iscritical to the proper functioning, safety, and permanence of thepresent device.

Noting FIG. 2 it is seen that the anchor block 32 has a generallyrectangular crosssection and has passing therethrough two countersunkanchoring holes 34 and 34A from top to bottom through which screws orpreferably bolts may be passed in order to anchor the anchor block 32.In addition, passing through its center, the anchor block 32 has a thirdhole 36 from the front of the block to the back thereof and in adirection perpendicular to the holes 3 1 and 34A and passing betweensuch holes. The hole 36 must be countersunk as shown at 38 at the frontof the anchor block 32. The holes 24 and 3 1A are countersunk orcounterbored merely to receive the bolt or screw heads, but it isessential that the hole 36 be provided at its front end with countersink38 in order to provide proper wear for the tether cord 31?.

The tether cord Ed is passed through the hole 36 in the anchor block 32and is knotted 40 at the back and 62 at the front of the anchor block.The distance between the knot 49 and the knot 42 must be greater thanthe distance from the front of the anchor block to the back of theanchor block and preferably should be about 1 /2 times the length of theanchor block.

Immediately below the anchor block 32 and integrally attached thereto bythe bolts passing through holes 3 and 34A is an indicator block 44. Theindicator block 44 is considerably larger than the anchor block 32 andin the preferred example weighs about 2 pounds and 8 ounces. Attached tothe bottom on the indicator block 44 is a long trailing bar 16 whichpasses through the trough of the channel guide 16. The indicator block44, the trailing bar 46, and the anchor block 32 thus form a unitarystructure which is free to move on the upper surface of the base board12 and which is limited only by the channel guide 16.

FIG. 4 shows one method of securing the trailing bar 4-6 to theindicator block 44. Here the trailing bar 46 is set in a groove cut inthe underside of the indicator block 44- and there secured by screws 50and 52. Bolt 54, used for attaching the anchor block 32 to the indicatorblock 44, is shown countersunk in the bottom of the indicator block 44.

If desired and for better control and accuracy, the indicator block 44-may be provided on its upper surface along a center line runninglongitudinally through the indicator block with a screw and wing nut 58upon which additional weights such as 2-ounce weights 60, having holes62 passing therethrough, may be placed. These weights may be kept in anydesired location; however, in order to maintain a unitary structure,such weights 60 may be kept on the base board 12 out of line with theoperation of the device by screw and wing nut 64.

During operation the game functions as follows:

The captive ball 28 is placed on a conventional golf tee or on theauxiliary game tee 22 as shown in FIG. 1, adjacent the base board 12,the intended line of flight being parallel to the longitudinal dimensionof the base board 12 and in the direction of increasing values ofyardage as indicated on the upper face of the base board. The player,with any golf club he chooses to practice with, then strikes the ball inprecisely the same manner in which he would strike an untethered ball onthe golf course or driving range.

The tethered ball 28 flies to the extended length of the tether cord 30,at which point the kinetic energy of the moving ball is transmitted intothe cord 30, thereby causing the cord to stretch a slight degree. Atthis point the energy of the moving ball is transmitted to the anchorblock 32 and immediately to the heavy indicating block 44, the anchorblock being at the opposite end of the tether cord 30 from the ball 28.The anchor block 32, the indicator block 44, and the trailing bar 4-6,being all securely fastened together, then move forward in a unit on thebase board a distance related and relative to the force with which thecaptive ball was struck. The harder the ball 28 is struck the fartherthe anchor block 44 will be dragged forward and the indicator block 44will line up along the indicated yardage indicia corresponding to thedistance an untethered ball would have been hit by an equal blow from agolf club.

The trailing bar 46 moves freely in the lengthwise direction in thechannel guide 16. Since the channel guide 16 is mounted on the pivot 20,in the event the player hooks or slices his shot, the anchor block 32,the indicator block 44, and the trailing bar 46 will be pulled in aslightly sideward direction and will apply a rotational force throughthe trailing bar 46 to the channel guide 16 about the pivot 20, thuspermitting the indicating block 44 to move towards the left or right ofthe base board as it is pulled forward on the base board 12 by the ball28 and the tether cord 30. The greater the hook or slice, the greaterwill be the motion of the indicator block 44 to theside of the baseboard 12.

The nature of the tether cord 30 in the present invention is a criticalfeature. The tether cord 30 must be neither greatly elastic nor must itbe inelastic, Materials such as rubber or nylon are entirely unsuitedfor the tether cord since such materials are highly elastic and,furthermore, have fast return elasticity. A steel spring would beunsuitable for the same reason. The type of elasticity necessary for thetether cord 30 is known as slow return elasticity. Slow returnelasticity is defined as the ability to stretch elastically (within theelastic limit as defined by Hookes law) without going back to itsunstretched state immediately after the stretching force has beenwithdrawn,

4t i.e., without snapping back or without kickback. Thus, the tethercord used in the present device must be capable of stretching, but upontermination of the stretching force must go back to its former lengthonly slowly.

One example of a tether cord Which meets the above requirements is size#6 of round hollow braided Floterope manufactured by the AmericanManufacturing Company, Inc, of Brooklyn, New York. This particularexample of tether cord is formed of 8 strands of conventionalmonofilament polyethylene, each strand being composed of 1Smonofilaments. The rope is formed in a conventional round braidedconstruction of the 8 strands and 178 feet of such a cord weighs onepound. In addition, the breakstrength of the cord is approximately 500pounds. Preferably the tether cord is approximately 7 inch in diameterand at least 25 feet long.

Polyethylene is the preferred material from which the tether cord ismade and it is particularly useful because of its low elasticity. Theslow-return elasticity of the tether cord is due in part to the factthat polyethylene itself has a low-return elasticity and partly due tothe straightening of the strands within the braided cord under the forceof the driven ball. During use the tether cord, under a maximum force ofabout 200 pounds, will stretch about 15 to 20%, based on the length ofthe unstressed cord. After the ball has been hit at its maximum force,e.g., about 200 pounds, which is far less than the elastic limit of thepolyethylene itself, the weight of the ball and cord causes the ball todescend and hit the ground. After the ball has hit the ground it isslowly dragged back as the tether cord slowly returns to its originallength. Although the tether cord is preferably formed from polyethylene,either of the high or low density varieties, other artificialfilamentary materials may be used, such as low-stretch polyethers,polyesters, and polyacrylates. A braided polyethylene filament cordhaving as many as 352 filaments, each filament having a diameter of0.005 inch, wherein the cord has a diameter of has also been found to bea useful tether cord in the present device.

The absence of kickback with the tether cord of the present device isimportant not only from the point of view of safety to the player but isessential for the accurate transmission of distance and directionalimpetus to the indicator components of the device.

Another critical feature of the present device and a feature thatdistinguishes from prior art devices and represents a marked improvementover such prior art devices, is the manner in which the tether cord 30is attached to the indicator components of the device. It is thusnecessary that the tether cord 30 be attached to the indicating portionsin a free manner with respect to both rotational motion of the cord andlongitudinal motion at the point of attachment, such freedom oflongitudinal motion being in the direction away from the flight of theball. This critical attachment is made by passing the tether cord 30through the longitudinal hole 36 in the anchor block 32, the diameter ofthe cord being less than the diameter of the hole. The anchor block 32must be formed of a smooth material having good wearing quality andcapable of withstanding considerable shock. The preferred material is acarefully machined block of plexiglass (methylmethacrylate polymer). Itis essential that the inner bore of longitudinal hole 36 be completelysmooth and that the hole 36 be countersunk at the front end of theblock. In addition, the knots 40 and 42 in the tether cord 30 at eitherend of the anchor block 32 must be spaced apart a distance greater thanthe length of the anchor block and preferably about 1 to 1%. times suchlength.

When the cord 30 is stretched under impact of the driven ball 23 it hasa slight tendency to bounce back within the anchor block to knot 42; inaddition, it sometimes will rotate. When the ball 28 returns, it hitsthe ground and sometimes rolls back slightly to the left or the rightwhich causes the cord to twist which effects rotation of the cord Withinthe hole 36 of the anchor block 32. The countersink 38 and the smoothinterior bore of the hole 36 reduces friction and inhibits wear of thetether cord 30 at its point of attachment to the indicating section ofthe device.

As explained earlier, the trailing bar is free to move in the channelguide in a lengthwise direction; the lateral motion relative to the baseboard 12 is restricted to rotational displacement of the trailing bar46, indicator block 44 and anchor block 32 about the pivot pin 2%) ofthe channel guide 16 as the center. Stop blocks 14 and 14A are used torestrict within limits the rotation of the trailing bar, indicator blockand anchor block about the channel guide pivot and also serve as astarting rest point for the indicator block 44.

The indicia on the base board 12 are obtained empirically as indicatedhereafter. Three relatively consistent golfers are obtained. Golfer #1averages drives of from 160 to 125 yards. Golfer #2 averages about 175to 200 yards. Golfer #3 averages about 250 to 300 yards. The marks aremade a uniform distance apart as shown in FIG. 1. The weight of theindicator block 44 is varied until golfer #1 hits drives indicatingdrives of 100 to 125 yards as shown by the device. Under this weight ofindicator block 44, it is found that golfers #2 and #3 also hit theiraverage distance of drives as indicated by the device. Rather thanchange the weight of the indicator block 44, it is also possible to useadded weights to vary the total weight. For example, weights 6t)weighing 2 ounces each may :be used in conjunction with the indicatorblock 44. Any golfer can adjust the game to his average distances ofdrives by adding or reducing the weights on the indicator block 44.Tests have indicated that the addition of a single two-ounce weight onthe indicator block 44 reduces the indication of drives by a distance of25 yards.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and thereforethe invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification, but only as indicated in the appendedclaims:

What is claimed is:

1. A golf practice game comprising a tethered ball, a tether cord havinga slow return elasticity connected to said ball at one end, means bothto anchor and to permit rotational and longitudinal movement of saidcord at the other end thereof, said anchor means comprising an anchorblock, an indicator block having substantial inertia integral with saidanchor block, a base board underlying said integral anchor and indicatorblocks so that said integral blocks frictionally rest thereon, said baseboard having indicia thereon for indicating the travel of said indicatorblock on said base board due to the force exerted by the flight of saidtethered ball, a trailing bar integral with said integral indicator andanchor blocks and projecting from the rear of said integral blocks in adirection away from the intended flight of said tethered ball, and achannel guide mounted on said base board behind said indicator block,said channel guide supporting said trailing bar to permit longitudinaltravel of said trailing bar in said channel guide.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said channel guide ispivotally mounted for horizontal rotation about an axis perpendicular tosaid base board so that the travel of said indicator block is indicativeof distance and direction of the driven tethered ball.

3. A device in accordance with claim 2 wherein said tether cord isformed of woven strands of polyethylene and exhibits a maximum stretchunder maximum stress of no more than about 20% of the total unstressedlength.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said anchor block isformed of impact resistant material having a longitudinal boretherethrough through which said tether cord is passed to obtain saidconnection of said cord to said anchor block and to permit said rotationof said cord.

5. A device in accordance with claim 4 wherein said tether cord isknotted behind and in front of said anchor block, the distance betweensaid knots being greater than the length of said anchor block, :saidlongitudinal bore being countersunk at the front end of said anchorblock and being sufiiciently smooth to inhibit wear of said cord duringmovement in said bore.

6. A device in accordance with claim 3 wherein said anchor block has alongitudinal bore therethrough through which said tether cord is passed,and knots in said tether cord behind and in front of said anchor block,the distance between said knots being greater than the length of saidanchor block, said longitudinal bore being countersunk at the front endof said anchor block and being sufficiently smooth to inhibit wear ofsaid cord during movement in said bore.

7. A device in accordance with claim 2 further comprising stop blockmeans on said base board for limiting the angular displacement of saidintegral indicator block and trailing bar.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,873 3/1909Peter 73-380 1,999,518 4/1935 Stafford 273-35 2,201,697 5/1940 Martin etal. 73-38O 2,888,266 5/1959 Melin 273-197 X JAMES J. GILL, ActingPrimary Examiner. RICHARD C. QUEISSER, Examiner.

J. J. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.

1. A GOLF PRACTICE GAME COMPRISING A TETHERED BALL, A TETHER CORD HAVING A SLOW RETURN ELASTICITY CONNECTED TO SAID BALL AT ONE END, MEANS BOTH TO ANCHOR AND TO PERMIT ROTATIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CORD AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, SAID ANCHOR MEANS COMPRISING AN ANCHOR BLOCK, AN INDICATOR BLOCK HAVING SUBSTANTIAL INERTIA INTEGRAL WITH SAID ANCHOR BLOCK, A BASE BOARD UNDERLYING SAID INTEGRAL ANCHOR AND INDICATOR BLOCKS SO THAT SAID INTEGRAL BLOCKS FRICTIONALLY REST THEREON, SAID BASE BOARD HAVING INDICIA THEREON FOR INDICATING THE TRAVEL OF SAID INDICATOR BLOCK ON SAID BASE BOARD DUE TO THE FORCE EXERTED BY THE FLIGHT OF SAID TETHERED BALL, A 